It is common practice to tow a trailer behind a vehicle. A particular problem encountered while towing is the reduced visibility behind the vehicle. In particular, the trailer presents an obstacle which partially secures the driver's field of view behind the vehicle. Large and small trailers typically reduce visibility and create a blind spot behind the vehicle. The resulting lack of visibility can, for example, compromise the following manoeuvres: lane changes, overtaking, parking, joining a motorway (highway) and pulling out of junctions.
In order to mitigate the aforementioned problems, it is common practice to fit a so-called towing mirror to the side mirrors of the vehicle. The towing mirrors extend laterally outwardly to provide improved visibility along the side of the trailer. However, towing mirrors have several disadvantages, notably they increase the vehicle width and may reduce manoeuvrability in confined spaces. Moreover, towing mirrors are not well suited to providing a view of other vehicles positioned directly behind the trailer. Towing mirrors can also suffer from vibration and hence blurring of the image.
It is known to provide a rear-facing camera on a vehicle to enable a rear-view image to be displayed in the vehicle cabin, for example on an electronic display. However, when a trailer is being towed behind the vehicle, the image generated by the rear-facing camera will be at least partially obscured. As a consequence the image may include blind spots, for example in lateral regions alongside the trailer.
It is against this backdrop that the present invention has been conceived. At least in certain embodiments, the present invention seeks to overcome or ameliorate at least some of the aforementioned problems associated with prior art devices.